Apple receives 25 patents

Wednesday, July 18, 2012 10:22 AM

Apple Inc. received 25 patents yesterday for technologies it developed for smartphones, which could mean trouble for Android phones.

Apple has previously charged that the Google-owned Android operating system copied the interface and usability of Apple's iPhone, and urged U.S. Customs agents to halt shipments of new phones into the United States at the border.

One of the patents, "Portable electronic device, method, and graphical user interface for displaying electronic lists and documents," solidifies Apple's control over touch screen usability, according to Wired Magazine.

Kevin Krause, a blogger for pro-Android blog Phandroid, wrote that he worried the patent could stifle competition in the market.

"The bad news for Android and its hardware partners is that this patent will likely become a stable of future patent infringement claims coming from Apple's court," he wrote. "The effects could be swift and lethal, depending on how descriptions of user interface elements are leveraged."